- Requirements
- United Kingdom
- Engineering Council · Engineers (chartered and incorporated)
Engineering Council · Engineering Council (via ICE, IMechE, IET and CIBSE) · UK
Engineering Council CPD requirements for chartered and incorporated engineers, in plain English
Short answers first, detail after, source at the bottom. Written to be read on a phone at work.
The rule in one sentence
Registrants must maintain competence under the seven-point CPD Code and record their CPD (mandatory); there is no minimum number of hours; each licensed institution samples at least 5% of registrants' records every year, and professionally active registrants who persistently ignore sample requests risk removal from the Register.
Last verified by RiverCPD team
Source: engc.org.uk →- Volume
- Record CPD · no hours · 5% sampled yearly
- Cycle
- Annual (previous 12 months' records)
- Deadline
- Set by your institution when selected
- Audit
- At least 5% sampled at random each year
- RiverCPD
- Coming soon
How many hours of CPD do I need?
Short answerThere is no hours target. The Engineering Council's CPD Code does not specify a minimum amount of time and favours an outcome-based approach over counting hours or points. What matters is that you plan, do, record and reflect on development relevant to your role; some institutions add their own guidance figures (the IET suggests 30 hours).
What counts as CPD?
Short answerAny activity that maintains or enhances your competence counts, provided you record it and reflect on it. The Code asks registrants to undertake a variety of development activities, record them, reflect on what they have learnt, evaluate against self-set objectives and review their plan regularly. Mentoring and work-based learning count as much as courses.
What happens if I'm audited?
Short answerYour institution must sample at least 5% of registrants' CPD records each year and provide feedback. If selected, you submit your previous 12 months' records, usually through the institution's online tool, or declare you were not professionally active. Professionally active registrants who persistently do not engage risk removal from the Register.
When is the deadline?
Short answerThe Engineering Council sets no fixed calendar deadline. Deadlines are set by the institution that samples you and vary: IStructE requires submission by 31 March; IMechE's sanctions letter allows three months; ICE, IET and CIBSE state no public date. Keep records up to date so you are ready whenever a request lands.
How does it work at my institution?
Short answerAll four institutions follow the Engineering Council's CPD Code: record your CPD, no set hours, and at least 5% of registrants sampled each year. What differs is each institution's own tool and how long you get when you're selected. Structural engineers have a separate, stricter rule.
- ICE: its own CPD recording tool. No public deadline once you're selected.
- IMechE: Career Developer. Its sanctions letter allows three months to respond.
- IET: Career Manager. Recommends 30 hours a year: guidance, not a rule. No public deadline.
- CIBSE: mycareerpath. No public deadline.
- IStructE: 30 hours a year and a 31 March deadline. See CPD for structural engineers.
The 5% minimum is set out on ICE and IMechE pages and in an older Engineering Council policy statement.
Source and verification
Verification
Last verified by RiverCPD team
Re-checked when the regulator publishes a change.